we should fix it so you get the songs.

How? Where are these songs coming from? From the half-dozen singers in my locality? We'll soon get pretty fed up with singing those, and the audience even more fed up with listening to them. How on earth do you think that is going to spread folk music?

The only discrimination against performers getting paid gigs is whether they're any good or not. Why do you find that so difficult to understand? Why should anyone pay a performer if no one will pay to listen to them. Why should someone pay to listen if a performer isn't worth listening to?

Local music only did well for hundreds of years because they had no alternative. If you weren't lucky enough to live somewhere with good musicians and singers, you'd have to put up with the rubbish because there was nothing else. But even in those days the best performers were professional, and played for dances and other events for payment both in cash and kind - usually beer. They were always glad to hear new songs and tunes from itinerant workers and gypsies.

As for preserving their music - they didn't. As soon as they had access to the wireless and gramophone most of them willingly abandoned the old songs in favour of modern, professionally-performed music. Which is why folk song now is left to a handful of enthusiasts.